Multicolor printing press



July 25, 1933. W CLAYBOURN 1,919,462

MULTICOLOR PRINTING PRESS Filed July 28, 1930 gwuentoz Saw r Fmaa claw/M1 5 Patented July 25, 1933 UNITED PATET OFFICE LESLIE WILLIAM: CLAYBO'URN, OF MILWAUKEE, WISCONSIN, ASSIG-NOR TO CLAY- IBOUBN PROCESS CORPORATION, OF MILWAUKEE, WISCONSIN, A CORPORATION OF WISGONSIN Application filed July as,

The invention relates to multi-color printing presses.

One of the objects of the invention is to provide a new and novel feeding arrangement associated with the plate cylinders of a multi color printing press of the type wherein the sheet to be printed receives its printed impressions while carried by a single impression cylinder past the plate cylinders, and wherein the arrangement is such that the printed or wet side of the sheet is held up so that it may be dried out of contact with any surface by the time it reaches the delivery stack, and so that the supply stack and the delivery stack are located at the same side of the machine.

A further object of the invention is to provide a printing press wherein five colors may M be imprinted on a printing sheet while the same is carried around on a single impression cylinder wherein the plate cylinders and the'ieed and delivery mechanisms are arranged in a novel manner and in a manner which has been found to beexceedingly advantageous in practice. More particularly this arrangement consists in the disposition' of two of the cylinders for printing two col- .ors on one side of the impression cylinder and the disposition of the other three printing cylinders for printing three other colors, on the opposite side of the impression cylinder, and the disposition of the rotary feed and delivery devices above the impression cylinder in the space between the upperones of the plate cylinders, the feeding device heing disposed adjacent the upper of the two cylinder arrangement on one side of theimpression cylinder and the delivery device being disposed between said feed cylinder and the upper one of the three cylinder arrangement on the opposite side of the impression cylinder.

The invention further consists in the several features hereinafter set forth, and more particularly defined by claims at the conclusion hereof.

The drawing shows a multi-color printing press embodying the invention.

In the drawing the numeral 2 designates an impression cylinder which is provided with two diametrically disposed sets of grip- M'UL'EIGOLOB ramrme rnnss 1930; Serial No. 471,260.

ping devices. 3, of known construction, for gripping the sheet and carrying it around on the impression cylinder. At one side of the impression cylinder the plate cylinders 4 and '5 with their inkers 6 and 7 are arranged in substantially the manner shown, it being noted that the axis of the plate cylinder 4 is substantially aligned with the axis of the impression cylinder and that the cylinder 5 is disposed below the cylinder 4 and has its axis at about an angle of 45 degrees with that of the vertical axis of the impression cylinder. Plate cylinders 8, 9, and 10 with their inkers 11,12 and 13 are disposed on the opposite sides of the impression cylinder with the axis of the cylinder 9 aligned with the horizontal axis of the impression cylinder, and the axes of the cylinders 8 and 10- disposed on opposite sides of the cylinder 9, being disposed at an angle of approximately degrees to the vertical axis of the impressio cylinder.

This arra gement it will be noted, disposes the plate cy inders of the multi-color press at opposite sides of the impression cylinder beyond the bottom and top po tions of the same so that the cylinders are readily accessible to the operators of the press. A rotary feed device or cylinder 14 is disposed on that side of the impression cylinder which has the plate cylinders 4 and 5 associated therewith and above the plate cylinder 4, and has its axis at substantially 45 degrees to the verticle axis of the impression cylinder, while a rotary delivery device or cylinder 15 is arranged between the cylinders 8 and 14 and has its axis substantially aligned with the vertical axis of the impression cylinder.

The feed cylinder 14 may be of any approved construction and is provided with the usual grippers 16, and the delivery cylinder 15 may be of any approved construction and is associated with grippers 17 and-these grip: pers are arranged to cooperate in the usual manner with the grippers 3 of the impression cylinder so that the sheet is transferred from the feed cylinder 14 to the impression cylinder andis then taken from this cylinder to the cylinder 15 after the printing operation. The sheets to be printed are arranged in a stack 18 at one side of the machine with suitable mechanism for feeding them upwardly as they are used (this mechanism itself not constituting part of the present invention) and are then conveyed by a suitable belt conveyor 19 to the feed cylinder 14. The delivery cylinder 15 has conveyor belts 20 associated therewith, which belts are provided with the grippers 17 and are guided over rolls 22, 23, and 24, the sheet after being picked up by the grippers 17, being carried by the belt 20 along the lower runthereof and deposited upon a delivery stack 25, on the same side of the machine as the stack 18, a plate or pan 26 being spaced slightly below the lower run of the delivery belt so .as to keep the sheet carried with the belt bythe grippers in a substantially horizontal position and above the feeding stack 18 and its mechanism. 4 The im-' pression cylinder makes one revolution to two revolutions of the plate cylinders so that two sheets are printed for every complete turn of the impression cylinder.

It is also to be noted that with the arrangement of press elements above described that the'disposition of the feed and delivery devices 14 and 15 is at the upper part of the machine where they are readily accessible to the operator of the press.

What I claim as my invention is:

1. In a multi-color printing press, the combination of a single impression cylinder, a plurality of plate cylinders arranged at one side of said impression cylinder to cooperate therewith, a plurality of plate cylinders arranged at the other side of said impression cylinder to cooperate therewith, inkers for each of said plate cylinders, sheet feed and delivery devices cooperating with said impression cylinder and arranged adjacent the upper portion thereof between the upper ones of the plate cylinders above mentioned, the lower of said plate cylinders at each side of said impression cylinder being spaced apart to provide free access to the impression cylinder at the bottom portion of the press.

2. In a multi-color printing press, the combination of a single impression cylinder, a plurality of plate cylinders arranged at one side of said impression cylinder to cooperate therewith, the upper one of said plate cylinders having its horizontal axis substantially aligned with that of the impression cylinder, a plurality of plate cylinders arranged at the other side of said impression cylinder to co operate therewith, the upper one of said last named cylinders having its axis disposed above the horizontal axis of said impression cylinder, a rotary feeding device cooperating with said impression cylinder and having its axis disposed in substantially the same position on one side of said impression cylinder as that of the upper plate cylinder on the opposite side of said impression cylinder, and a rotary delivery device cooperating with said impression cylinder and arranged between the upper one of said second named plate cylinders and said rotary feeding device the lower of said plate cylinders at each side of said impression cylinder being spaced apart to provide freeaccess to the im ression cylinder at the bottom portion 0 the press.

' 3. In a multi-color printing press, the combination of a single impression cylinder, a group of plate cylinders mounted about one side of said impression cylinder and another group of plate cylinders mounted about the other side of said impression cylinder leaving an unoccupied space between said groups and below, said impression cylinder, rotary feed and delivery cylinders associated with the impression cylinder at the upper portion of the same, means at one side of the machine for carrying the sheets to be printed to the feed cylinder, and means at the same side of the machine as said first named means for removin the printed sheets from the delivery cylin er.

4. In a multi-color printing press, the combination of a single impression cylinder, a group of plate cylinders mounted about one side of said impression cylinder and another group of plate cylinders mounted about the other side of said impression cylinder leaving an unoccupied space between said groups and below said impression cylinder, feed and de livery devices associated with the impression cylinder at the upper portion of the same, the feed device being disposed below the delivery device, sheet supply and delivery stations at the same side of the machine, means for carrying the sheets from the supply station to the feed device, and sheet conveying means disposed above said last named means for carrying the printed sheets from the delivery device to the delivery station.

5. In a multi-color printing press, the combination of a single impression cylinder, a group of plate cylinders mounted about one side'of said impression cylinder and another group of plate cylinders mounted about the other side of said impression cylinder leaving an unoccupied space between said groups and below said impression cylinder, rotary feed and delivery devices associated with the impression cylinder at the upper portion of the same, the feed device being disposed below the delivery device, sheet supply and delivery stations at the same side of the machine, means for carrying the sheets from the supply station to the feed device, sheet conveying means disposed above said last named means for carrying the printed sheets with the printed face uppermost from the delivery 

